Division rival's predicted spending spree would be an absolute nightmare for the Cleveland Guardians

The MLB offseason will be here before we know it and with that will come a high volume of player movement. Some teams will obviously spend more than others, but there is one prediction of how things will play out that would be very troublesome for the Cleveland Guardians.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller compiled a list of 8 Bold MLB 2024-25 Offseason Predictions, with each division getting their own entry. The American League Central portion of this list would not only be a total nightmare, not just for the Guardians but the other two competitive ballclubs in the division as well.

"AL Central: Detroit's Free Agency Spending Triples Rest of AL Central Combined"

Kerry Miller

Yikes. While no one is expecting the Guardians to be big-time players in free agency or internal investments, one team tripling the spending of the rest of the division would severely alter the competitive balance within the AL Central for 2025 and beyond. The Detroit Tigers are already a team on an upward trajectory, with the team's competitive timeline being moved up from a few years down the road to right now. If Detroit were to spend as predicted by Miller, they would be able to pair cost-controlled talent with impact-free agents that could catapult them to the top of the division for the foreseeable future.

It is mentioned that the spending by Detroit could simply be signing players such as Tarik Skubal and Riley Greene to contract extensions and that could very well happen. But to triple the spending of four other teams, the Tigers would still have to add some big names for this prediction to come to fruition.

There is one thing that must be acknowledged when it comes to spending it does not always result in winning. A perfect example of that would be Detroit's signing of Javier Baez a few seasons ago. Baez's contract has been a complete disaster, and he has become one of the least productive players in the sport. Perhaps the Tigers have learned their lesson and will be a little more responsible when it comes to spending, but then again, they could go down the exact same road again if they do indeed triple the division's spending as predicted by Miller.

When it comes to the Guardians, expect them to make additions of some type, most likely of the risk-averse variety, following the organization's previous spending habits. Hopefully, the front office is a little more aggressive than usual, considering their playoff run and the clear areas of need on this roster. This would not only be beneficial to the team's competitive future, but it would take the disastrous prediction from Miller completely off the table and help Cleveland remain the best team in the AL Central.